


Lovely and Warm

by aitomation



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: A Single Reference to Star Trek, Autistic Hermann Gottlieb, Bad Days, Canon Disabled Character, Dancing, Established Relationship, Forgetting to Wear a Ring You Always Wear, Hand Feeding, M/M, Married Couple, Picnics, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Stargazing, Surprises, Trans Hermann Gottlieb, Trans Male Character, Trans Newton Geiszler, Wine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-30 21:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19412209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aitomation/pseuds/aitomation
Summary: A hectic morning leaves Hermann exhausted. Newt comes up with a perfect way to salvage the evening.





	Lovely and Warm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skepticamoeba](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skepticamoeba/gifts).



> happy birthday wen!!! i cant believe ur a whole [REDACTED] yrs old!!!! this fic is based on a handful of things ive seen on ur twitter the last couple weeks (n i may have had hermann kinda quote a tweet of urs toward the end n i hope thats alright!!) i hope u like it!!!! <333

Newt hated rushing in the mornings. He thought he’d left it behind when he got out of school, when he started teaching and got to choose when most of his classes were; but apparently early morning meetings are a universal constant. He’d set nearly a dozen alarms on his phone and two on the clock across the bedroom to keep from having to scramble. He’d planned everything out perfectly-they’d wake early and cuddle for ten minutes; then they’d start a shower together, and Newt would slip out to make breakfast while Hermann used all the hot water; they’d eat together and then go back to the bedroom to get dressed in their nice suits and be ready to leave a full hour and a half before the meeting started. 

When Newt dragged himself out of bed to slap off the alarm clock he nearly fell over when he saw the time. 

“Hermann,” he shrieked, and Hermann sat bolt upright in bed. 

“What is it darling? Has something happened?” Hermann croaked, his voice still thick with sleep. 

“We overslept!” Newt was tearing off his pajamas, stumbling to the bathroom. Hermann blinked.

“We couldn’t have. There were so many alarms.” 

“Apparently we did,” Newt called over the sound of the shower. “Can you check in the kitchen for any quick snacks? I don’t have time to cook now.” Hermann pulled himself out of bed with a little groan of effort and started toward the kitchen. 

“Leave the shower running would you?” 

There weren’t any quick snacks in the kitchen. There was a stain on the lapel of Newt’s good suit. They couldn’t find Hermann’s nice shoes. The car was low on gas. 

Newt groaned as they hit traffic leaving the gas station. They’d dashed and ducked around each other to get ready and get out of the house and they had just enough time to get where they were going if they hurried, and now they were hitting traffic. Why was there even traffic this early?

“Why is there even traffic this early?” Newt snapped, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Hermann sat heavy in the passenger seat, cheeks still pink with the exertion of the morning. 

“It is a highway darling. There are many people going in to work, I’d imagine.” Hermann’s voice was dreamy; a bit breathless. Newt glanced over at him nervously. 

“We should grab you something to eat.”

“We don’t want to be late,” Hermann said, turning his head to look at Newt. 

“We’re definitely gonna be late if we stay in this traffic anyway. I’ll take the next exit and we can grab you some food while we get directions.” Hermann hummed, eyes slipping closed. Newt blew out a breath and flicked on his turn signal. He chewed his lip as the traffic inched forward. 

He felt awful-Hermann didn’t even need to be there. As confident as Newt was in his work, he still wanted his presentation to go well. He knew he rubbed people the wrong way, that he tended to get over-excited and passionate when he described his work; and he also knew that a lot of really important board members were going to be there, specifically to see him and his presentation. So he’d begged Hermann to come with him as his assistant (he wasn’t allowed a plus one), and Hermann for some reason had agreed. He was probably regretting it now, or would be soon. 

Newt huffed. The robotic voice of the GPS guided them ever-closer to the presentation as the time ticked away much faster than it had any right to. Hermann glanced at Newt around the hash brown he was quietly munching on. 

“You should eat something too Newton,” he said, already sounding much more aware. He pulled another hash brown from the bag and pushed it at Newt. “You can’t present on an empty stomach. It’ll make you nauseous.” 

“Thanks Hermann,” Newt sighed, grabbing his food. He forlornly took a bite. “I’m gonna look like an asshole, showing up late to my own presentation,” he grumbled around his mouthful of deep-fried potato. He swallowed before continuing, “Everyone knows that I know the board’s gonna be there. They’re gonna think I’m pulling some shit.” 

“No one is going to think that,” Hermann said easily. He took a sip of his orange juice. “We’re going to be on time.” 

“Maybe,” Newt said skeptically. He pulled into the line for the parking garage. “Today is just a horrible day I think.” 

“Nonsense.” Hermann pulled Newt’s hand off the gear switch long enough to lace their fingers together and squeeze gently. “There’s still time.” 

Navigating the parking garage was a team effort, but eventually they found a space-it wasn’t even too far from the building. They still had to race across the lot and half-sprint through the lobby toward the elevator bank. When they turned the corner, one of the elevators going up was still open, almost packed with people. 

“Hold the door please!” Newt called, waving a hand. 

“Oh Newton, I’ve forgotten my ring,” Hermann cried, his voice just short of a wail. Newt turned to see him rubbing the empty space on his ring finger absently, looking down at it with that sad downward tilt to his brow. “This  _ is _ a horrible day,” he moaned. 

“I’ll make it up to you,” Newt said quickly, jogging toward the elevator. Hermann shuffled up behind him and slid into the crowded space, drooping. When the elevator doors clicked shut, and the floor lurched up under them, Newt laced his fingers with Hermann’s. “We can grab it after this presentation. Then we can go out or something. Whatever you wanna do okay?” Newt said quietly, leaning his head toward Hermann’s. Hermann looked up at him through his lashes pathetically, almost pouting. 

“That does sound nice…” he said, “but I don’t know how much help I’ll be to you now. You know how important my routines are.” Newt nodded. 

“I do. But you just being there is the most important part.” Hermann’s lips twitched up the tiniest bit just as the doors opened on their floor. “We’re gonna crush this,” Newt said, leading Hermann into the hallway by the hand; and he almost believed it. 

The presentation went much more smoothly than either of them had anticipated. No less than four of the board members approached them afterwards with compliments and handshakes. Newt was beaming as they meandered back down to the lobby and out to where they parked the car. 

“Hermann you are the absolute best husband in the entire world. I cannot believe how well that went,” he gushed as they sank into their seats. 

“I’m glad I could help darling,” Hermann replied. He blinked heavily, relaxing as much as he could into the faux leather. He looked wiped-pale and clammy, with dark circles under his eyes. Newt’s smile dimmed a little bit. 

“You doin alright?” Hermann hummed. 

“Just a bit tired Newton. That was quite a lot.” 

“Yeah it was,” Newt said. He was still buzzing with adrenaline-he knew Hermann was feeling the opposite. “Did you figure out what you wanna do? As your reward for being the best?”

“Oh, I really don’t think I want to do anything darling,” Hermann sighed, looking apologetic. “This day has been so exhausting, and it isn’t even half over.” Newt hummed, tapping one finger on the steering wheel. 

“You wanna go home and watch  _ Star Trek _ ?” Hermann smiled. 

“That sounds lovely.” 

Hermann passed out on the couch before the intro finished on the first episode. Newt watched him for awhile; watched his face relax; his chest rise and fall. While Newt watched, he thought. Then he stood and got to work. 

Hermann woke to the glow of the television. He was warm-the blanket from the back of the couch had been draped over him at some point. He winced when he felt the sizeable puddle of drool he had left on the throw pillow his head had been resting on. Hermann shifted and sat up, slowly stretching out his tired muscles. 

“Enjoy your nap?” Newt teased from the doorway, a soft smile on his face. Hermann smiled in return, gesturing for Newt to come closer so he could give him a proper kiss. 

“I think I needed the rest,” he muttered against Newt’s lips. 

“You definitely deserved it,” Newt said, sitting next to Hermann on the couch and wrapping him in a hug. “You’re the best husband ever.” 

“So you keep saying,” Hermann replied, his chest swelling with warmth. 

“I know you said you didn’t wanna do anything else today, but I do kinda feel bad about this morning,” Newt said into Hermann’s side. 

“Newton…” 

“Come outside with me?” Newt asked, smiling sheepishly. Hermann rolled his eyes, but let Newt lead him by the hand to their backyard. It was comfortably sized and mostly garden, backing up to the water, with a picnic table under an old Red Maple. Hermann spent a lot of time outside when they bought their house, digging around in his sunhat and gloves and replacing the grass with flowers and fruits and vegetables. Newt had laid a path from their back door that branched off in several places, and he was working on a bench for the shady spot at the bottom of the hill. 

Now, Newt covered Hermann’s eyes as they stepped onto the back porch. He carefully led Hermann down the path. 

“Ready?” Newt asked, and Hermann could hear the grin in his voice. 

“As I’ll ever be,” Hermann teased; he gasped when Newt pulled his hands away. A blanket had been laid out under the picnic table, benches replaced with stacks of plush pillows; its four corners anchored with lanterns. Next to the table sat their picnic basket and an ancient radio; a vase of flowers, a handful of petals, and over a dozen electric votive candles decorated the table. 

“Oh Newton,” Hermann breathed, walking over to the setup as though in a trance. “You did all this while I was sleeping?” Newt shrugged, poorly hiding the fact that he was beaming with pride. 

“I thought you might like it.” 

“There’s lavender in here,” Hermann said, gently cupping the flowers and taking a deep breath.

“I made a bunch of your favorite foods, and I got that wine you like, and the lanterns have electric candles in them too, just to be safe.” Newt bounced on the balls of his feet, gesturing as he spoke. “I thought we’d just have a nice little meal out here, to finish the day.” Hermann turned to Newt. He was smiling wide, eyes crinkling and laugh lines showing; his face soft and eyes full of love.

“I think that’s a very good idea.” Newt helped Hermann onto the pillows and poured him a glass of wine before he set about putting all of the food on the table. As he emptied containers onto plates and into dishes, Hermann kept stealing tiny pieces, popping them into his mouth with a mischievous smile. Newt smiled back at him, not even pretending to be irritated. Before he sat on his own stack of pillows, he stooped to turn on the radio and fiddle with the dial. Hermann watched him, an unreadable expression on his face behind his smile. 

“You know you don’t have anything to make up for, right Newton?” 

“Don’t know what you mean,” Newt mumbled, flopping gracelessly on the pillows across from Hermann. He picked absently at the table. Hermann smiled, setting his wine down. He placed his hand over Newt’s and gave a gentle squeeze. 

“This morning wasn’t your fault. And it wasn’t even particularly terrible. Everything worked out all right.” 

“It was still awful though,” Newt groaned. “And all that running when you didn’t even have to be there? You were exhausted when we got home.” 

“And I got the rest I needed.” Hermann used a finger to tilt Newt’s chin up, so he could look him in the eyes. “Don’t feel bad love. Look at this wonderful evening we get to share together now.” 

“I guess you’re right…”

“I am always right Newton.” Hermann grinned, showing his teeth. They ate together in relative silence, enjoying the calm of the evening. When Newt finished, he stood and brushed himself off before offering a hand to Hermann.

“What is it love?” Hermann asked, covering his mouth with one hand.

“Dance with me?” Newt closed his eyes, feeling the melody of the song wash over him. He startled when he felt Hermann’s hand in his. 

“I’d love nothing more.” Newt pulled Hermann onto the grass and wrapped his arms firmly around Hermann’s trim waist. Hermann slid his arms around Newt’s neck, leaning more of his weight on Newt than was strictly necessary. Newt turned them in lazy circles, following the slightly-staticky rhythm from the radio. He tucked his head under Hermann’s chin and closed his eyes; feeling them moving together, breathing together. 

Hermann watched the world turn as Newt gently moved them. He saw their house and its garden, their neighborhood; his eyes swept down the hill to the still sea water, and back up to the Maple tree. He saw their romantic little spot nestled among so many beautiful things that made him happy. The sun was sinking below the horizon, painting everything in oranges and purples. He felt tears spill down his cheeks before he realized they were there. 

“Hermann you’re crying,” Newt said, voice gentle. Hermann laughed wetly. 

“I know my love.” He sniffed, reaching up a hand to wipe at his eyes. “You must forgive me, I believe I am a bit overwrought.” 

“Hermann…” 

“I love you,” Hermann said earnestly, tears still flowing down his cheeks. “Thank you. For all of this. And for loving me.” Hermann hesitated, screwing up his mouth, before he said, “I often feel as though I don’t have the vocabulary for the things that I feel Newton. But that you would do all of this, because you never want me to feel tired or stressed…” Hermann raised a hand to run his fingers through Newt’s hair. “It’s lovely,” he whispered, cupping Newt’s jaw and resting his thumb on Newt’s cheek. “You’re lovely Newton. And I am so glad I have you in my life.” He kissed Newt gently. Newt placed his own hand over Hermann’s and leaned into his touch. 

“I just want you to be happy all the time,” he murmured. 

“With you Newton, I am.” Newt laughed. 

“Wow,” he said, his own lip wobbling. “Even when you’re half-dead in the passenger seat of the car at eight AM?” 

“Especially then.” Hermann kissed him again, this time lingering. “Come sit with me my love. Watch the stars with me.” Newt sniffed, sneaking another kiss to Hermann’s lips. He let Hermann guide him down on the pillows this time; and he let Hermann snuggle into his side; and he fed Hermann from the food left on the table, tearing off tiny bites and pressing them to his lips and only shivering a little when Hermann’s tongue brushed his fingers. They watched the stars together until Hermann started to fall asleep again, and even though the night air chilled his skin, Newt was full of warmth. 


End file.
